Astrophysicist and native Hawaiian Dr. Paul Coleman is used to operating in the worlds of both science and spiritual tradition. But in this short podcast, he tells a story of one time when those two worlds clashed, and he was reminded of the importance of remembering his native roots.

When staff physicist Paul Doherty began to teach, he started by doing lots of demonstrations. But now, he explains, he has students get their hands on the science, which helps them to understand the calculations.

Geologist Chistina Riesselman explains how studying 3-million-year-old sediment from Antarctica is providing a glimpse of what our planet's climate might look like if atmospheric carbon dioxide continues to rise as projected.

Cheer on the competitors in this zany science cook-off. Teachers compete before a live audience at the Exploratorium for the revered title, "Iron Science Teacher." This week's secret ingredient: batteries.

Astrophysicist Paul Coleman and expert ocean navigator Kalepa Baybayan visited the Exploratorium as advisors to our Polynesian Navigation project—a large-scale Web resource (launching April 2010) that will feature the astounding navigation practices of the Pacific Islanders, who were expertly navigating the Pacific thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.
Paul Coleman works at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, where he concentrates on the large-scale structure of the universe. Kalepa Baybayan is an expert navigator who mentors Hawaiian youth in native navigation practices. Both men are native Hawaiians. We spoke with them about traditional navigation practices, the balance between science and spirituality from a native perspective, and the benefits of being grounded in one’s culture.

Webcasts made possible through the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Jim Clark Endowment for Internet Education, the McBean Family Foundation.

Bandwidth and infrastructure support for connectivity to the California Research and Education Network and to other Internet2-connected networks provided by the Corporation for Educational Networks Initiatives in California (CENIC).